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How did Hasdrubal Barca attempt to help Hannibal in Italy?

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Illustration of Hannibal the Carthaginian general wearing a metal helmet and armor, holding a shield decorated with a horse. — Hannibal Hannibal, engraving by John Chapman, 1800.

After being defeated by the Roman general Publius Cornelius Scipio at the Battle of Baecula in 208 BCE, Hasdrubal Barca successfully escaped with the majority of his army and marched overland from Spain to Italy.1

His objective was to join his brother, Hannibal, in central Italy to launch a direct, combined attack on Rome. Upon arriving in northern Italy in 207 BCE, Hasdrubal levied additional contingents of Gauls and Ligurians to bolster his forces, which were nearly equal in size to the army Hannibal had originally brought to Italy in 218 BCE.2

However, Hasdrubal’s attempt to link up with his brother was thwarted by the Roman consul Gaius Claudius Nero. Nero intercepted Hasdrubal’s forces near the Metaurus River, where the Carthaginian army was defeated and Hasdrubal was killed.123